


For when Albion’s need is greatest...

by Lavanyaa



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur Pendragon Returns, Blind Character, Blind Merlin (Merlin), Blindness, Boys Kissing, Forehead Kisses, Friendship/Love, Hugs, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love, M/M, Men Crying, Pain, Protective Arthur, References to Depression, Reunions, Sad, Sad Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Sad Merlin (Merlin), Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, There's A Tag For That, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-29 20:17:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17814827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavanyaa/pseuds/Lavanyaa
Summary: After taking part in the World War II, Merlin had been left hurt. After losing a part of himself because of the war, he had been placed in a institution with others invalide soldiers.Lost, sad, angry, depressed, and lonely more than ever, Merlin was starting to fade away. For the first time, after Arthur died, Merlin was started to feel like he was slipping away, and he wasn't even fighting it. Because he simply didn't want to.Would Arthur finally wake up now? Would he return now? Or would he leave his other half fade away in sadness and pain?Inspired from a pic I saw online with a merthur AU : "When Arthur finally rose from Avalon he was afraid when he didn't find merlin waiting for him. Instead he saw the world he once knew, in a state of turmoil and war. And he was heartbroken when he discovered Merlin broken and powerless in a hospital cot."(I changed a few things but the main subject is still the same).





	1. Merlin's Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Happy reading! ❤️
> 
> If there are some mistakes, I apologize, English isn't my native language...

It had been centuries, everything had changed around him, but Merlin hadn't. 

He had tried his best to live among the humans, the mortals, trying to make himself unnoticeable. And he had done it. 

After spending months, sitting in front the Lake of Avalon, Merlin had went back to Ealdor, and had lived there for a few years, until his mother passed away. He hadn't been around Camelot either, going back would have been too painful. The only times he had gone there had been to say a final goodbye to his friends. Then he had disappeared, from every Camelot’s citizens and warlocks. Some of them had went to search for him, because they had been worried about him, but they must have felt it, that Merlin had wished to be left alone from now on. 

 

Years passed, and centuries passed. Camelot had disappeared, warlocks and sorcerers too. And his magic… His magic hadn't disappeared, but it was…. dormant. It had found back its place, inside Merlin's soul, hiding itself from everyone, probably scared about the outside world. Because… the world had changed. The humans had changed. Sorcerers had been burned to the pyre, and Merlin had felt everyone's magic die. He hadn't been able to do much, he was the most powerful of them all, and if the humans ever find out, he would have became a lab experiment for them. 

 

So he had hidden himself from their sight. Of course, he had lived amongst them, he had met people, and made friends, friends who, when their own time had come, left him behind, living. 

He had helped people the best he can, he had been Gaius’ apprentice, so he had used his medical and science knowledge to treat people the best he could. He had went town to town, city to city, helping people who had crossed his path. He never had used magic, since a few years after Arthur had died. His magic had felt… lonely and depressed, and stopped itself from being used. Just like Merlin, his magic had stopped living. And started, simply, to wait. 

Merlin didn't know if his magic had disappeared, he always felt it, inside of himself, that his magic, had slowly started to close itself and had taken refuge inside Merlin. 

 

It had been centuries. And Merlin had waited. But today… Today, all Merlin wanted to do was to disappear, because all those years, he may have been surrounded by darkness, but now, all he could see was darkness. 

 

His sight was gone.

 

World War II had ravaged Great Britain… The United Kingdom had declared war against Germany, the 1st September 1939, and that day, Merlin had felt something inside himself move, maybe it had been just fear. But Merlin hadn't realized back then, that it was his magic feeling, for the first after a really long time, a sense of hope. Merlin hadn't know. So he had ignored that weird pulling inside his heart, and had prepared himself for the next war he was going to take part of. 

 

During all the wars and battles that had ravaged the United Kingdom after Camelot’s failing, Merlin had participated in them, fighting the enemies who had wanted to take control of his country. He had been on the field, in a an uniform, with weapons that the humans had created, and he had fought. He had fought for the freedom of the United Kingdom, praying each and every day, that they won't fall into the enemies’ hands, simply because the Kingdom had to be intact when Arthur would return. 

 

So Merlin had fought during the World War II, and had tried his best to fight against them. He may have not been the best when it came to fighting with his hands, or with swords, but training after training he had gotten better. 

The World War II had changed Merlin, and not in the best way. He had seen his comrades bleed to death on the field, he had seen people getting bombarded. Humans didn't use swords and shields anymore, they didn't need it, because they had come with far more better, and most dangerous weapons to fight a war. 

 

He never had been injured before. Not badly, at least. Some of his wounds had been a little bad, but his magic, had healed him. It was true that his magic had been hiding, but it had never let Merlin get hurt. Whenever he had been harmed, his wounds had been healed a few hours later. And Merlin had tried to come up with a convincing answer to explain that to whoever would ask about it. 

However, the last time he had fought, at the war, in 1945, the most unexpected thing had happened.

 

He had been in one of the trenches, shooting the other side, aiming their enemies, when suddenly, he had felt something pull inside of his chest. He had felt a terrible pain in his heart, and the next thing he knew, there had been a blast, the ground under him had trembled, and he had blacked out. 

 

And from that day, all he had been seeing was darkness. 

 

When he had woken up, after days of resting, it had been in the infirmary ward, far away from the war, because it had already ended. 

 

The first thing he had noticed were the bandages around his head, which went by his eyes. His eyes had been completely bandaged, and he had felt a few others on his forehead, on one of his hands, and his legs. All he had felt that day, when he had woke up, was pain. He had felt like every member of his body had been detached, and his eyes...his eyes had been burning him. 

He had sat up on his bed, with pushing himself up by using his elbows, and had moved his hands toward his eyes, to take off the bandages. And when he had, he had gasped, and had felt a few tears roll on his cheeks. 

 

“No, no, no…” had whispered, Merlin. He moved his hands toward his eyes, to touch them and a sob come out of his throat, when his hands touched something hard, and glutinous, instead of feeling his normal eyes. 

 

“What- What happened? What happened?” had screamed, particularly to no one, but he had felt strong hands holding by his arms, and pushing him toward the bed, taking him by surprise. 

 

“Sir, Sir you need to lay down”

 

“What happened to me? Let me go!” had yelled again, Merlin, hearing people walking, and rushing around him. 

 

“You need to calm down Sir, we need to put the bandage back on your eyes, or your condition is going to get worse. Stop struggling!” 

 

“What happened?! Is anyone going to tell me what happened? Please…” His last part of the sentence had been a whisper, he couldn't believe what had happened to him. How had been this possible? 

 

“You were near the blast, too near, that ravaged the trenches. Many died, Sir. You were the only lucky one, your wounds… surprisingly, are not that bad, so there is nothing dangerous about them. But your eyes…”

 

“What?” had asked Merlin, deep down, already knowing the answer to that question. 

 

“Your eyes had suffered the most, Sir. And… We don't know if your eyes will be… the same way they had been, after taking off the bandages. The scars will heal, of course, but… your sight… I…”

 

“Its gone… Isn't it?”had asked Merlin, with a broken voice, biting his lips, and feeling the weakest ever had been. 

 

“I'm sorry, sir. The impact was quite… dangerous. I don't know if the inside of your eyes would be changed but, your sight… We can not help you with that, Sir. We're really sorry. If you need anything, call for us, we'll be here. We're also going to find you a permanent facility, because you can't spend your life on your own anymore”

 

Then, the doctor had left. And Merlin had been alone with his thoughts. He had been in denial. Telling himself that his magic would fix everything, again. He had thought that his magic would heal him, like it had done so many times before. 

But, as the day had went, Merlin had started to realize, that the healing wasn't happening. Not because it couldn't heal it, but because it didn't want to. Merlin had tried to reach out to his magic, to order it to fix what happened, but he hadn't been able to. 

 

There had been a day, when Merlin had started shaking so bad, from fear and anger, that the nurses hadn't had any choice but to put him to sleep. When they had approached him, to administer the injection, Merlin had pushed them away, and had started yelling. 

 

“Let me go! Let me go!!”

 

His voice had started to shake, and his whole body had been hurting, but he didn't care. 

 

“Why isn't it healing??? Why isn't healing??!!” had choked out, Merlin, feeling his whole body shaking with fear, as sobs wracked his body. His lips were trembling, and tears had been , continuously, rolling down on his cheeks. 

 

“This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't to happen!” had screamed, Merlin, his voice hysterical, and so loud. 

 

Then, he had felt a needle on his neck, and had felt into unconsciousness. 

 

When he had woken up, the next day, he had felt… drained. Empty. Useless, even more than he had been feeling after Arthur's death. 

 

It had been eights years since he lost his sight… Eight years of full darkness. And Merlin kept feeling worse. The feeling of being unwanted, too much, and not belonging to anyone, or anywhere, had become too much. These feelings were making his days even more harder to go through. 

Lately, everything had been too much. The pain, the loneliness, the darkness. It had become too much, and Merlin had, now, no idea how to deal with it. 

There never had been a day where he hadn't thought about running away from this place. But he hadn't done so. What good could that have done to him? Nothing. There were no where he could go. He was stuck in here. 

 

It had been eight years, but, still, Merlin felt like it had been a hundreds of years. And the worst, was that he didn't know what to do with himself. 

In the past, he always had something to do,helping,traveling… 

Because just… waiting, was something Merlin didn't know how to do. He had always wanted to make himself useful, he had wanted to help. And he did. He had met people, and he had helped them, all the while, trying to be invisible. 

 

But now… Now everything had changed, and for the first time, after a long time, Merlin felt worse than hopeless. He felt lost, and felt like he had lost all will to live. He felt like his body had stop functioning. Eight years on a hospital bed could be quiet the impact on someone who used to run around everywhere, for almost every minute. 

 

Now, all Merlin wanted to do was… to do nothing. Only because, there was nothing to be done anymore. Albion was gone, Arthur was gone, his friends were gone, and now Merlin was left alone, with nothing but literal darkness around him… 

How did he get here? How did this happen? Why wasn't his magic healing him? Was it also gone? Did it also disappear? And left Merlin alone, again? Because Merlin still felt his magic in his body, the power flowing through his blood, he felt it at the tip of his fingers. Then, why couldn't he just use it? He had tried, so many times, to call upon his magic so he could heal his eyes, but his magic hadn't responded. 

 

He wasn't angry at his magic, he wasn't. And honestly… Merlin didn't feel anything anymore. Just emptiness. This feeling of wanting to disappear under the ground. The only thing that had kept him grounded, all those years, was that one day, he would be there, to welcome Arthur again. That he would take care of Arthur, in this time too, that they would be reunited again. He had had hope. He had held onto that belief, that one day, they would be side by side again. That they would bring peace to this world, and that Albion would rise again. 

 

But now, especially those past few months, Merlin stopped believing at all in Arthur's return. If Arthur hadn't returned, all those years while Merlin was… well, Merlin, why would he return now, now that Merlin had been turned into someone, completely and utterly, useless? How was he supposed to help now? Was he supposed to sit here, and… do nothing, for the rest of his immortal life? He couldn't. This couldn't be. Was this his punishment? For failing Arthur? For failing his destiny? 

 

Merlin didn't know what to think anymore. His mind, usually with hundreds of thoughts running around it, was awfully quiet, these past few years. And it had gotten worse these past few weeks. Merlin was feeling too much, and he just wanted it to stop. He wanted to stop feeling… well, whatever he was feeling at the moment. Because it made him harder to breathe, and harder to keep going. 

There had been a day, a month ago, when he had tried to hurt himself, with a little hope that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to stop this torture. Of course, he had tried that after a few months Arthur died. But then, this happened, and he had been feeling even worse than ever. But it hadn't work. The moment the glass had cut through his wrist, he had felt his magic putting back his skin together, the next second. 

 

He never tried it again. But it didn't mean that he never think about it. 

 

Today's morning had been a pretty normal one. Except for one thing…

Last night, he had this dream : of all the moments Arthur and him had spent together, every single one of them, like flashbacks, from the first day they had met, to the last day when Merlin held Arthur in his arms. 

So this morning, Merlin had woke up, screaming from his sleep, his mind still in the moment where Arthur died. Tears had been streaming down on his face, and he had been kicking in the sheets. It had taken three nurses to wake him up from his restless and terrifying nightmare. 

And since this morning, all Merlin had been whispering to himself, was one thing :

 

“Don't leave me, Arthur. Don't leave me.” 

 

He had curled upon himself, and he was sleeping on his side. His knees were brought up, and his arms were circling them. He was shaking a little, and his eyes were closed. 

 

His eyes, to look at were normal. Well… a little bit, there was this white substance into his retine, in both of his eyes, which was very visible. 

This morning, Merlin was feeling in a way like he had never felt before : he felt his life slipping from his grasp, from his body. He was alive, but the for the first time, after Arthur died, all Merlin wanted was to stop living. He just wanted for this horrible, heart wrenching pain, to stop. He just kept crying, silently, and for the first time, after a long time, he felt his magic crying, agonizing in pain as much as he was. 

 

 


	2. The awakening

 

Arthur had been resting at Lake Avalon for the past centuries, healing, and sleeping. The Guardians of the Lake had been watching over him, making sure he was comfortably resting. It had been centuries, but King Arthur had never woke up. The Guardians of the Lake had been warned by the Lady of the Lake to take care of Arthur, heal him, and let him sleep, and to watch over him until he would wake up again. When the Ladies of Avalon had asked when that would be, The Lady of The Lake had smiled at them, sadly, and had said, 

 

 

“When Albion’s need is greatest, King Arthur will wake up by himself. All you need to do, is to take care of him, and wait.”

 

So they did. Years after years, centuries after centuries, the Guardians of Avalon had kept watching Arthur in his sleep. They had taken care of him. They had healed him from his mortal wound, and had kept him from the human world, waiting for the day when the King would wake up. But King Arthur hadn't. He had kept sleeping, breathing peacefully, still in the same boat as he had been sent to Avalon. His red cloak was still upon him, shining slightly under the sun's light. 

 

But today… today, something was different. As usual, the Guardians had spent the morning watching over the King, when suddenly, his eyelids moved… The Guardians of the Lake couldn't believe it, it was finally happening! The Once and Future King was rising from the death! 

 

His fingers were slightly moving, and Arthur stirred in his sleep. All those years, Arthur had been sleeping peacefully. He didn't know how long it had been. But since he had died, he had felt thing unusual feeling of peace and contentment wash over him, the moment he had died, in Merlin's arms. 

 

All those years he had been resting, he had never wanted to wake up, so he had slept. All of his nights had been filled with quiet, and calm. It had been so peaceful. 

But this morning… this morning, something was different. Arthur had felt it. It was something, deep inside of him, which was… hurting. Not his wound, but something else. It was inside his heart, his soul… Something was calling him. Or someone.

This morning, the usual quiet had been replaced by the sounds of an unusual beeping sound. And Arthur could hear something else too. He heard… He was hearing someone's cries... The sobbing was so loud, Arthur's ears were starting to ring. 

These cries were the first thing he heard, since the day he had died. 

They were so painful to hear, Arthur couldn't bear it, but the cries, the beeping, and the sniffing, simply, wouldn't stop. 

 

But that's not what woke up Arthur. Not it wasn't. What woke him up, was what he heard after. 

 

_“Don't leave me, Arthur. Don't leave me.”_

 

That voice. He knew that voice. It was Merlin's! 

 

God, _Merlin_...

 

But why was Merlin crying and calling for him? And why couldn't he just wake up? What actually happened after he died? Was he still dead? Did he even died? All he had ever felt during this long, peaceful sleep was… silence. 

Arthur was lost. And the voice of Merlin, crying, and begging, didn't do anything to ease his mind. 

Arthur could never handle when Merlin was sad. During their past life in Camelot, Arthur would immediately notice if there was anything wrong with Merlin. Merlin, who was always talking rubbish, and making silly jokes, calling him names, smiling… Arthur had always known, whenever Merlin was upset, some of the times at least. But why was Merlin upset now? Arthur was right here. He was still with Merlin, wasn't he? He was still with Merlin. That was obvious. He could never feel this peaceful, if he wasn't with Merlin. Merlin wouldn't go anywhere without him, and Arthur wouldn't either. Not that he had a choice, when he died, but he wasn't dead anymore. So Merlin must be with him, and he must know, that Arthur wasn't dead, so why was Merlin so upset? 

 

Arthur had already saw Merlin cry. Multiple times. But this… These heart pulling sobs he was hearing, and that pain, that pure agony, he was hearing in Merlin's voice… This was unbearable, he couldn't handle this. He needed to comfort Merlin. He needed to tell him that he wasn't gone, he was right here, that he always had been right here. 

 

_Merlin, I am right here._

 

The sobs were getting louder, and louder, and Merlin's voice was getting weaker, but the pain was still persistent in his voice. Merlin's voice was cracking in the middle of his sentence, and he kept saying the same thing, non stop :

 

 

_“Don't leave me, Arthur. Don't leave me.”_

 

 

And Arthur wanted to yell, 

 

 

_“You idiot, Merlin, I am right here.”_

 

 

But Arthur could not. The words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't even move his lips to form the sentence. 

 

Why? 

 

Arthur wanted to scream, to yell, at Merlin that he wasn't gone, that he wasn't dead, that he never was, that he had always been here, in front of Merlin. That's where he was wasn't he? Still in Merlin's arms? And Merlin was probably healing him with his magic, so he must have noticed, that Arthur wasn't dead. He must know. Then why was he crying like this? 

Because when Arthur was being held in Merlin's arm, he had felt so peaceful, he just had let everything go, the worries, the pain, fear. He hadn't been afraid of dying. Merlin had been there with him, he had been fine. And Arthur, for however long had been sleeping, he had felt the same kind of peace he had felt when he was being embraced by Merlin. 

 

Then why was Merlin crying? 

 

What if… 

What if he wasn't with Merlin? 

What if he had left? But Merlin would never do that. He would never have left Arthur. 

But what if… 

What if he did? What if he had to? What if he had left Arthur but he hadn't want to? Maybe that's why he was crying and calling for him? 

What if Merlin was alone, and that's why he was upset…. 

And even worse, what if Merlin was hurt?? What if he was hurt, badly, and he was calling Arthur for help??

What if-

 

Suddenly, Arthur felt his heart ache in an awful pain, in a that he had never felt before. It made his breath stutter, and- No, it didn't make his breathe stutter, it made him breathe, for the first time ever since he had been dead. So… he wasn't breathing at all, during his rest, was he? Arthur didn't understand, and he didn't want to. 

 

He just wanted to wake up. 

 

He took his first breathe, after all those centuries, and he felt the air filling his lungs, and for the first time, after a long time, Arthur felt alive. 

He was feeling like he was being reborn. A strange feeling took place into his whole body. A strength he hadn't felt before. 

Arthur was breathing again, but he was still surrounded by darkness. He couldn't open his eyes. Why? 

 

Merlin was hurt, upset and crying for God's sake, he needed to wake up now. So Arthur concentrated. He took another long breathe, and focused on what he was feeling. 

To be honest, Arthur wasn't feeling much. He felt… empty, yet, he felt strong. 

 

And his heart started to hurt even more. Something was pulling at his heartstrings and Arthur wanted to scream in pain. 

 

What was that? 

 

All Arthur wanted to do, was to wake up, to stop this pain, Merlin's pain… 

He couldn't stop the pain, he didn't know how to. So he let it consume him. He let the pain spread. He felt it. He felt the awful burning sensation, travel from his heart to his whole body, and Arthur felt like he was on fire… 

The more pain he felt, and the more Merlin's sobs and his call resonated in his ears. 

 

This may be the worst pain he had ever felt in his whole life, and somehow, instead of hurting him badly, he was also feeling like it was… freeing him. It was confusing. 

Then, a few moments later, the pain stopped. And he felt… life. He felt his blood circulating inside his body, and felt warm. He felt at peace. 

He felt light, and the warmth. 

But more importantly, he felt in control of his body. He felt he could move on his own. So he did. 

 

The first thing he did, was to move his fingers. Well, he tried, and he felt them moving… He felt his fingers touch something hard, like wood, maybe? Then, he tried to open his eyes, and felt his eyelids move. And, he felt a hand on his chest, a firm, strong, hand, and nails were digging in his chest, through his armor, and Arthur screamed. And he opened his eyes. 

 

He felt himself move, even before opening his eyes, and the first thing he saw, was three tall women, wearing caps, their face hidden, with a long wooden stick, standing in front of him. 

 

Arthur immediately stood up. Standing up, he noticed that his sword wasn't with him anymore, and… he was standing in a boat? Arthur took a step back, and looked around. 

He was on a island, on a hill and water was surrounding him, them. 

 

“Welcome back, Arthur Pendragon”

 

Arthur jumped, when the three women in front of him, spoke, loudly, at the same time. 

 

“We have been waiting for you”, said again, the three women. 

 

Arthur looked at them with wide eyes, he felt the panic seize him from the inside, and before he could even try to hide his fear from them, they spoke again.

 

“You do not need to fear us, we mean no harm. We've been the ones watching over you, all this time”

 

“What?” asked Arthur, speaking out loud, for the first time after centuries, and we he did, he felt his throat being dry, and his voice was a little raspy. He took some deep breaths and cleared his throat a few times, and spoke again. 

 

“You… read minds?”

 

The women laughed, all together, and it wasn't a happy laughter, it sent chills all over Arthur's back. For someone who said they weren't harmful, Arthur was starting to feel very threatened. 

 

“You've been sleeping for a long time, My Lord, we've thought you'd never wake up at all.”

 

Arthur frowned, but before he could ask how long he actually had been sleeping, Merlin’s cries resonated in his ears again, even louder than the last time, and Arthur gasped in pain. He moved his hands and clasped them against his ears, groaning, and grimacing, hoping that he would be able to stop them. 

 

“You can't stop the cries of a broken soul”

 

And Arthur reacted. His mind was suddenly occupied by only one thing : Merlin. Feeling anger take over his senses, the need to get to Merlin, and the need to protect him from whatever pain he was going through, made Arthur move forward to the three women, and he asked them, with an acid, yet firm, threatening voice :

 

“Where is Merlin?” 

 

The women looked at him, silently, without uttering a single word. 

It made Arthur's blood boil, and he took another step forward. 

 

“I swear to the Gods if you have hurt him-”

 

“Do not fear Pendragon, we did not” replied the women, with a tone hiding amusement and surprise. 

 

“Then where is he ? Why is he crying? Why is he hurting? And what am I even doing here??” exclaimed Arthur, bursting in anger, and confusion, throwing his hands in the air. 

 

“Let me go to him. Take me to Camelot. Right. Now.” said Arthur, pointing a finger at the woman standing in the middle, who was facing him. He saw the lady's lips twitched forward, and Arthur fought the urge to scream at her. But her next words made him feel like a sword was planted in his chest. 

 

“There is no more Camelot, my Lord”

 

“What?” asked Arthur, feeling the air leaving his lungs,

 

“You've been healing, and resting, for a long, long time, Arthur Pendragon. The world has changed. Camelot fell, and the world evolved, for better and worse. Rulers changed, you're no more King, my Lord. Albion is no more. And what is left of it, is fading away. You must prevent that from happening.”

 

Arthur wanted to throw up. What was that supposed to mean? He was the King, that's all he had ever been, and now he wasn't one anymore… 

The cries in his head, and Merlin's voice, kept getting louder and louder, and Arthur just wanted them to stop. 

 

“I need Merlin, where is he? Take me to him. Please. I need to… I need to see him. Please, just…” 

Arthur felt his eyes burning, and the tears forming behind his eyelids, and felt his heart ache from the need to be near Merlin, right now. 

 

“Emrys had been waiting for you, my Lord. He isn't feeling well. You need, you have to take care of him” said the three women, raising their head to stare at Arthur, and Arthur noticed their eyes, they were pure, fully blank, and white. 

 

“Vow to us, that you will not leave his side, again.”

 

“I won't. I swear I won't. After everything he had done for me, I… I will never leave his side again, I swear it on everything which his dear to me” said Arthur, looking straight into the woman’s eyes, who was standing in front of him. He felt a tear roll down on his cheek, but he paid no attention to it. 

 

“Be aware of this new world, Arthur Pendragon. Things may have evolved into something better, but the people… some of them have gotten worse. Be careful.”

 

“I will” said Arthur, nodding, but not fully understanding what was the women were talking about. 

 

“Very well then. And remember one last thing, take care of what's left of Albion. He needs you.” said the women, with a grave, yet sad voice. 

 

Then, without a warning, one of the woman raised her wooden stick toward him, and it erupted into a light, almost blinding Arthur, and the next thing he knew, he was underwater. 

 

He always had been a good swimmer, and thanks to his past trainings, he had been able to pull himself to the surface, and taking great gulps of air, he blinked his eyes multiple times, to adjust his vision, and then he noticed something else too. 

 

His clothes had changed. He was still wearing pants and a shirt,but the material was different. His pants were blue, and his shirt was sticking against skin. 

He was soaking wet. He had reached the front of the Lake, when he noticed he wasn't the only one present. 

There were people around him. Some of them were admiring the Lake, some of them were sitting down on the grass, eating with their children and family, and others were simply running around, chasing kids. The scenes made Arthur smile. 

 

“Sir! Are you alright??”

 

The voice of an old man made him jump, and he turned to the side to see a man, looking at him with wide eyes and frow, his face showing the worry and the confusion he must be feeling after seeing someone appear out of the Lake. 

 

“Did you see that?” heard Arthur, a few meters away from him, and saw two children looking at him with big, wide eyes, and a wide smile. Arthur smiled back at them, waving at them, then turned his head to look at the man facing him. 

 

“Yes. Yes, I am alright. Thank you for your concern.”

 

“Did your boat drown, Sir ?” asked the man, moving his hand, to lay it on Arthur's chest, his voice filled with concern and worry. 

 

“No, no, I mean, yes. Yes! My boat drown and uh… I swimmed to the surface. But I am alright-” 

 

Arthur could not finish his sentence, because Merlin's cries resonated in his ears, again, but this time, it was louder than the previous ones. So, so loud. Arthur felt like his head was being open in two. Grimacing, and shutting his eyes, and groaning in pain, Arthur took his head between his hands. 

 

“Sir, sir, are you alright??” heard Arthur, from the old man, but he couldn't answer. 

 

 

_“Don't leave me, Arthur. Don't leave me.”_

 

 

“I have to go. I… have to go” said Arthur, and walking past the old man, and others’ people questioning glances, he walked away. There was a wooden board on which was written “exit” and Arthur walked toward that path, filled with little rocks and sand. He kept walking, until he reached the end of his path. Then, he was faced with the world he had left behind, which now, had changed, leaving Arthur lost more than he ever was. 

 

Merlin's cries in his head never stopped, his broken, terrified voice filled with pain kept ringing in his head. Arthur held on every force he could to not to start screaming in frustration. A thousands of questions took place in his mind, all at once. But the most important one made Arthur feel lost more than ever. 

 

_Where the hell was Merlin?_

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 will be up next weekend, hopefully... Thank you for reading!
> 
> Leave kudos or comments if you enjoyed it ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? :p
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter will probably be updated next Saturday night ❤️


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